Top NFL Pipelines by School

http://www.profootballrosters.com/2012/08/13/top-nfl-pipelines-by-school/

The Florida Gators are tied with the Notre Dame Drunken Irish and others for #9 on the list of college football programs that are pipelines to the NFL.

50 Days to Gator Football

In honor of the 50th day until Gator football, I have put together my list of the top 100 Gators. Here is my #50 to #101.

1. Nat Moore
2. Jeff Mitchell
3. Tom Shannon
4. David Williams
5. Rick Casares
6. Glenn Cameron
7. Jimmy Dubose
8. John L. Williams
9. Larry Libertore
10. James Jones
11. “The Great Wall of Florida”
    1. Lomas Brown
    2. Jeff Zimmerman
    3. Crawford Ker
    4. Phil Bromley
    5. Billy Hinson
    6. Scott Trimble
12. Forest K. “Fergie” Ferguson and Walter “Tiger” Mayberry
13. Jevon Kearse
14. Clifford Charlton
15. Jack Jackson
16. Fred Weary
17. Jabar Gaffney
18. Lito Sheppard
19. Jarvis Moss
20. Mike Degory
21. Percy Harvin
22. Chris Leak
23. Ahmad Black
24. Jeff Chandler
25. Gerard Warren
26. Johnny Rutledge
27. Taylor Jacobs
28. Travis McGriff
29. Zach Piller
30. Ray McDonald
31. Tony Lilly
32. Allen Trammell
33. Darrell Jackson
34. Cooper Carlisle
35. Godfrey Myles
36. Adrian White
37. Jeff Roth
38. Reggie McGrew
39. James Bates
40. Derrick Harvey
41. Don Gaffney
42. Leonard George and Willie Jackson Sr.
43. Brandon Siler
44. Reche Caldwell
45. Cornelius Ingram
46. Andre “Bubba” Caldwell
47. Lindy Infante
48. Louis Murphy
49. Elijah Williams
50. Deshawn Wynn
51. Wayne Pease
52. Bill Corry, Hubert Schucht, Harold Rowe, Buck Schindler, Elmer Ricau

60 Days to Gator Football: “The Great Wall of Florida”

I have been counting down the 100 greatest Florida Gator football players and coaches. #60 is “The Great Wall of Florida”.

“The Great Wall of Florida” consisted of Lomas Brown (Gator Great, All American, All SEC, Jacobs Trophy), Jeff Zimmerman (All American, All SEC), Crawford Ker (JUCO All American, 2nd team All SEC), Phil Bromley (All SEC), Billy Hinson, and Scott Trimble, a fearsome mass of offensive linemen that paved the way for John L. Williams and Neal Anderson to lead the mighty Gators to what was their first SEC championship (later stripped by the University). Many consider the 1984 squad as one of the three best ever fielded by the Gators, alongside the 1996 and 2008 teams.

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Ranking the Florida Gator Rivalries

Six more months until SEC football. In this lull I have been thinking of the Florida Gators’ biggest rivalries. Personally, I root for both Florida and Florida State, so it is tough to rank the Noles as rivals. Here is my personal ranking of the biggest rivalries against the Florida Gators.

1. Georgia. This SEC East team is our first obstacle to winning the SEC and they share a recruiting base with us. They lead the all time rivalry 47 – 40 – 2. The fact that the Leg Humpers lead the series annoys me, and this team’s fans have annoyed me the most ever since I started watching football in the 1980s. I miss when this was advertised as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. This rival somehow manages to garner national attention, even when the teams are not ranked well. I think these teams will provide some heated rivalry games in the next few years, since Gator head coach Will Muschamp is a former Bulldog defensive back, and Georgia has been nationally relevant lately.

2. Alabama. Since the SEC championship game was created in 1992, the Tide have become the measuring stick of Florida’s success and this game has determined the national champion on multiple occasions. We just broke a stalemate in the SEC CG era record and are now 6 – 7 since 1992, 4 – 3 in SEC championship games, 3 – 2 in national title chases. I personally hate that Alabama snags NW Florida athletes, such as Trent Richardson. They often come close to snagging game changer athletes like Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow. Other than when the two teams play, I will follow the Tide. Good teams, good coaches, decent fans.

3. FSU. Florida is ahead in this rivalry 33 – 21 – 2, but is falling behind in the modern era. Obviously, this game has in state recruiting implications. This game does not have a bearing on winning the SEC East, so I rank this rival lower than most. As a kid, I was always torn between Florida and FSU. To this day, I root for both teams.

4. LSU. The Bengal Tigers have been our permanent SEC West rival since 1971. Florida leads the series 30 – 25 – 3. LSU has become a good measuring stick for our program, considering their recent success. The fans are usually fun to hang out with, even when we lose.

5. Tennessee. Florida leads 22 – 19, but we pulled ahead only when the Volunteers were weak. When this team gets strong again, I will rank them above FSU where they should be. As a kid, I hated when the Gators lost to UT.

6. Auburn. The Orange and Blue played the Blue and Orange every year from 1945 to 2002 and provided some great games. We are behind in this rivalry 38 – 42 – 2. Personally, I hate seeing NW Florida kids going to Auburn or Alabama, so I take personal interest in this rivalry.

7. Miami. Just because I hated them as a kid. They hold a 28 – 26 edge in the series. They challenge Florida in recruiting. They are a bunch of crack #####, New Jersey transplant thugs. I just want a hurricane to wipe Coral Gables off the map, but only after we pull ahead in the series. The fans tend to be ornery, cantankerous idiots, with 99% having never been associated with the university physically, virtually, or otherwise. Most do not even attend games, which is why the stadium is usually empty.

Is it football season yet?

Sent from my MB860 using Gator Country

Cubicle Warrior Preview of #18 Florida Gators vs Tennessee Volunteers

First year coach Will Muschamp must face his friend, Derek Dooley, as they face off for the first time in the SEC opener for both SEC East teams. The mighty Gators have fired on all cylinders against cream puffs Florida Atlantic and UAB and look to test the new look Gators against their rivals in orange, the much maligned Volunteers. The Vols come into town with a high flying offense and some skilled receivers that will test the Gators young secondary. Statistically, the Gators strengths in running offense and total defense match well against the Vols weaknesses at defending the run. Look for the Gators to control the clock with Shake and Bake, tailbacks Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps, with an occasional change of pace with Trey Burton, Hunter Joyer, and Mike Gillislee. We really do not know what to expect in the passing game. Maybe the Gators will throw to the flats until it no longer works, but we hope to see John Brantley stretch the field on occasion. The defense should be energized by the return of Shariff Floyd, and we may see more defensive shifts between a 4-3 and a 3-4 front. The Gators are favored in this contest, but I expect the Vols to keep the game closer than the Vegas odds. I call it 27-17, good guys.

Def. PPG UF: 1.5 (#1) UT: 19.5 (#46)

Def. YPG UF: 174.5 (#6) UT: 371 (#64)

Off. PPG UF: 40 (#32) UT: 43.5 (#22)

Off. YPG UF: 490 (#21) UT: 485 (#24)

Rush YPG UF: 248.5 (#17) UT: 127 (#81)

Pass YPG UF: 241 (#49) UT: 358 (#9)

Rush Defense UF: 50.5 (#10) UT: 139 (#67)

Pass Defense UF: 124 (#12) UT: 233 (#73)

Pass efficiency Defense UF: 89 (#18) UT: 122 (#57)

17 Days to Gator Football – #17 Reche Caldwell (’98-’01)

Donald Reche Caldwell was born in Tampa, Florida, and played for Steve Spurrier‘s Florida Gators. He was a third-team All-American selection in his junior year of 2001, an honorable mention All-American, a Fred Biletnikoff Award finalist, and a 2nd-team All-SEC selection. He finished his impressive junior season with 65 receptions for 1,059 yards (16.3 yards per catch) and 10 touchdowns (the ninth receiver in Gators history to gain over 1,000 yards receiving in a single season). He is currently 8th on the all-time Gator receptions list with 141 hauls. Look for his younger brother, Andre (#5, ’03-’07) later in the countdown.

25 Days to Gator Football – #25 Elijah Williams (’94-’97)

Elijah Elgebra Williams was born in Milton, Florida, and played running back and defensive end for Steve Spurrier‘s Florida Gators from 1994 to 1997. When asked why he chose Florida, he stated that he wanted a school that was close to home, had good academics, and had his favorite number, #25 in honor of Raghib “Rocket” Ismail. It was a good thing that Notre Dame was too far away, because he did get an offer from Notre Dame amongst his 63 offers.  As a Gator running back, Elijah led the team in rushing yards in ’95 and ’96 and was a key member of the 1996 Bowl Alliance National Championship team. He finished with over 3,000 all-purpose yards.

28 Days to Gator Football – #28 Chris Doering (’92-’95)

Christopher Paul Doering was born to be a Florida Gator–raised in Gainesville, and a surprisingly good athlete as walk-on wide receiver on Steve Spurrier‘s Florida Gators. As a walk-on, he set several records for walk-on players: 149 receptions (6th best in UF history), 2,107 receiving yards (10th best), 31 touchdown receptions (tops in UF and SEC history). He is well remembered for his game-saving catch against the Kentucky Wildcats in 1993. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall fo Fame as a Gator Great in 2006.

61 Days to Gator Football

61 – Ellis Johnson, DT (1991-94)

Ellis Bernard Johnson (Wildwood, Florida) and Kevin Carter (’91-’94) formed one of the best defensive line duos in college football while playing for Steve Spurrier‘s Florida Gators. Carter ate up the quarterbacks while Johnson occupied the offensive linemen up the middle. For his efforts, he was selected as first-team All-SEC and CNN Defensive Player of the Year in 1994. He tallied 16 QB sacks and 26 TFL.

68 Days to Gator Football

68 – Mike Degory, C (2001-05)

Mike Degory of Palm Bay, FL, started all 50 games he played during his career – something only accomplished Larry Kennedy (’91-’95). He anchored the offensive line during the last 2 seasons in which the Gators had a 1,000 yard rusher (2002, 2004). Named to the 2005 AP and Coaches’ First Team All-SEC team. Listed as 2005 First Team All-American by CBS.